Braintree woman’s teen angels to be heralded at town hall

On Tuesday, Mayor Joseph Sullivan will publicly thank two teenage girls who came to the rescue of an 84-year-old Braintree woman who had suffered a hip fracture when she slipped and fell in her back yard Feb. 10.

On Tuesday, Mayor Joseph Sullivan will publicly thank two teenage girls who came to the rescue of an 84-year-old Braintree woman who had suffered a hip fracture when she slipped and fell in her back yard Feb. 10.

The girls were sledding on conservation land across the street from the Gardners’ home on Ledgewood Lane. They had a clear view of Fantasia’s backyard a street away and saw Fantasia fall as she returned to her house after brushing snow off her trash barrels. A blizzard had hit the region that weekend.

“I slipped and fell, but no one was around and I couldn’t get up,” Fantasia told The Patriot Ledger in March after spending weeks recovering from her injury. “I crawled to the back porch, but I couldn’t get to the door.”

Fantasia cried out for help.

“We started hearing her scream,” Caitlin told The Ledger.

The girls told Caitlin’s father what had happened, and he drove them to Fantasia’s home to help. They arrived at the same time as another neighbor, who called 911 as the girls helped Fantasia inside.

“Those two little girls, they actually saved my life. It was freezing cold, and I couldn’t move,” Fantasia said. “Without them, I don’t know what I would have done. I probably would have froze to death.”

Fantasia was brought to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where doctors found that she had a fractured hip. She underwent surgery and spent several weeks in the hospital.

“Those little girls, I call them my little angels,” Fantasia said. “...I have a lot to thank them for.”

Caitlin said she and Melissa don’t consider themselves heroes but that it felt good to help their neighbor.